The Supreme Court has given President Donald Trump the go-ahead to unilaterally withhold $4 billion in foreign aid previously appropriated by Congress, a crucial milestone in an intense legal battle over the constitutional power of the purse.
The high court’s ruling Friday, issued over the dissent of the three liberal justices, signals Trump has the upper hand in that battle. The decision effectively blessed Trump’s “pocket rescission” — a controversial maneuver in which the president withheld the funds toward the end of the fiscal year so that the money could not be spent even if Congress did not approve the rescission.
That tactic was designed to circumvent the usual process for a rescission of funds: a special request from the president followed by a 45-day period in which Congress must agree to the request for it to become effective.
The ruling comes as the federal government hurtles toward a Sept. 30 deadline to avert a government shutdown, and it could make bipartisan negotiations an even taller order. Democrats wary of cutting deals with GOP leaders must now face the more concrete prospect that Trump could again refuse to spend funds appropriated by Congress.
